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Xi Jinping’s Buns Are All the Rage

Diners take pictures of steamed buns like the ones that Chinese President Xi Jinping ate on Saturday the Qing-Feng restaurant in Beijing. See more photos of the restaurant.

Reuters

China is going wild over its president’s buns.

Local media is abuzz with news about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s unexpected visit on Saturday to a traditional Beijing steamed-bun shop, where he stood in line, ordered a lunch of pork buns and paid for himself.

Xi Jinping Makes Beijing Pork Bun Shop Famous

Chinese media is abuzz after President Xi Jinping made an unexpected visit Saturday to a traditional Beijing steamed-bun shop, where he stood in line, ordered pork buns and paid for himself. A look at the bun shop.

Diners in the Qing-Feng Dumpling Shop in western Beijing snapped photos of Mr. Xi, who shocked the people in the restaurant by doing something so common, traditional and mundane. State media verified the visit by recirculating the photos on official microblog accounts.

Attempts to reach Qing-Feng for comment have been unsuccessful, as the restaurant’s phone line has been busy. Local media said Mr. Xi’s visit was unannounced and lacked special security measures. China Real Time is tempted to visit the outlet for an order of the “Xi Combo,” which local media said included pork and onion buns, green vegetables and stewed chitterlings for 21 yuan, or roughly $3.40.

Chinese citizens, who have grown up with the image of emperors surrounded by servants and concubines, are accustomed to thinking that their leaders’ lifestyles are nothing like their own, full of privilege and pomp. That’s why many were shocked to see former U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke carrying his own luggage and buying his own coffee when flying into Beijing.

Political commentators said that while the event appeared to be unplanned, photos released on state media suggest that the drop-by was intended to portray the leadership as being in touch with common concerns. “Of course it’s more like a show, but Chinese people are still eager to see it happen in China,” Fang Ledi, a political commentator, said on his blog. “The symbolic meaning of this kind of action is to show great progress in Chinese politics.”

Excitement built in April when a Hong Kong newspaper reported that Mr. Xi, accompanied by a single aide, took a cab in Beijing. Many were disappointed later when state media denied the report.

Mr. Xi has aimed to differentiate himself from his often stiff-looking predecessor Hu Jintao by making himself more accessible, speaking in plainer language and talking more often with foreign businesses. During a trip to the U.S. as vice president in 2012, Mr. Xi attended a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game.

Other commentators said that Mr. Xi’s actions have done little but scratch the surface. “Compared to the Mao generation, this is already progress. And I think under the situation that the system still remains unchanged,” said Liu Geng, director of Haikou Economy Institute, on his blog. Mr. Liu added, “This kind of action will not last and the impact will fade.”

Users of China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo, a relatively vibrant forum for public opinion given widespread media censorship, reacted Sunday to Mr. Xi’s lunch stop with overwhelmingly positive comments. “It’s a good thing. At least he’s willing to go into people’s normal life,” said one user.